Advance Directives

Advance Care Planning -- Honoring Choices

Advance care planning is one of the best gifts you can give to the people you love, and it starts with a conversation. Advance care planning is a process of understanding, reflecting on and discussing future medical decisions. Eighty-two percent of people say it’s important to put their wishes in writing, yet just 23 percent have actually done it. How to begin advance care planning?

Reflect on your values.

Choose a health care agent.

Explore your goals for treatment.

Complete a written advance directive.

To learn more, request your free copy of “Advance Care Planning: It’s About the Conversation” or a free “Advance Care Planning Kit” by calling the Aspirus Customer Contact Center from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 715.847.2380 or 800.847.4707.

Complimentary copies of Michigan advance directive forms are available from local Aspirus hospitals and clinics.

Download, print and fill out the directive.

When filling out the directive, read the forms carefully and follow all the steps.

Attach extra pages if there isn't room to write all your wishes.

Sign the forms - Sign and date the forms in front of two witnesses not related to you and not a health care professional that is providing care for you. If you add pages, sign and date each page. Write on the form the number of pages you've added.

Make copies - Keep the forms you signed in a place where they can be found easily. Don't lock them in a safe-deposit box. Give a copy to your agent and alternates, your doctors, and loved ones. Keep extra copies in case you go to a hospital or nursing home.

Free Assistance to Complete Forms

Please call one the following for a free appointment if you would like help completing an Advance Directive.

Before a crisis – gather information, think about what is best for you and your family.

What is an “advance directive”?

The plan you make for future health care

Provides your personal instructions

Appoints someone(s) who you trust to make decisions for you.

Why should I have an advance directive?

Clarifies your wishes

Prevents future disagreements among family members.

What if I don't have an advance directive?
If you don't have an advance directive, and you are incapacitated, your decisions may be made by your physician and your surrogate decision-maker, according to Wisconsin law.

What is a “healthcare agent”?
A person you choose to make decisions in case you become incapacitated and cannot communicate for yourself.

What does it mean if I have been named as a “healthcare agent”?

You are considered trustworthy by the person who named you.

You have been asked to serve an important role.

You are expected to make decisions, based on what the person would do if he/she could tell you.

Are there questions to consider if I am asked to be a “healthcare agent”?
YES!

Are you willing to do this?

Do you know what the person would want?

What are examples of health decisions that might need to be made?

Tests to be done

Medications to be given

Whether or not your loved one can be moved to another facility for care.

What are some good questions to discuss with your agent and your family – before a health crisis?

What is important to you to “live well”?

When might life not be worth living for you?

When would you want physicians to stop treatments that keep you alive? How sick would that be?

Is it easy to talk about this?

No. Talking about end-of-life is like a “foreign language”

Aspirus has people who can help with this.

Call the Aspirus Information Center at 715.847.2380 or 1.800.847.4707 and request a “Thoughtful Thursday” free appointment.

Are there some common phrases often used in these cases? Do they help?
Yes, some phrases are often used, but they only help if the healthcare agent understands what is meant by them. Examples:

I want to die with dignity.

I want to die a peaceful death.

Please do not let the doctor keep me alive “on a machine.”

I want/ do not want heroic measures.

Just let me die.

Tips:

Find out what your loved ones mean by these statements

Write down their responses.

What if I don't know who to name as my agent?
You can still write down the treatments you want/ do not want. Consider a friend, someone from your church, a close neighbor.

Must I have an advance directive to receive care?
No.You can’t be refused medical care or health insurance because you don’t have an advance directive.

Will I be refused care if I have an advance directive?
No. Treatment will not be refused or stopped until your doctors are sure it wouldn’t provide the results you’d want.

Where should I keep my advance directive?

Keep your original with your important papers.

Make many photocopies and share copies with your agent, all children, your primary care provider, your health system (ask that it be scanned into your medical record).

Where is my advance directive valid?
Your advance directive is valid in Wisconsin. If you spend considerable time in another state, you should also have one prepared in that state.

What if I travel?
Take a copy of your advance directive with you when you travel. Tell someone with you where it is. Many states honor a directive from another state.

What if I move?
It's best to make a new advance directive if you move to a new state. If you live part of the year in another state, do a form for each state.

Situations change, and my preferences might change. When should I review my advance directive for possible updates? Review your advance directive any time of the “Five D’s” occur:

Decade

Death of a loved one

Divorce

New Diagnosis

Decline.

What if I update my advance directive?
If you change or update your advance directive, give a copy to all those who have the initial version and ask them to discard previous version(s). Aspirus is required by law to archive all versions, but your healthcare team will follow the most current one.